KHUJAND, May 19, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- 21 persons, including 16 children, have been hospitalized in northern Sughd province over the past week on suspicion of having contracted typhoid, Asia-Plus has learned from Abdumavlon Sultonov, the deputy head of the Sughd Center for Sanitary ad Epidemiologic Supervision.

According to him, 11 persons, including six children, have been hospitalized in the Asht district.  “Eight children on suspicion of having contracted the disease have been hospitalized in Isfara,” said Sultonov, “One kid has been hospitalized in Konibodom and another one has been hospitalized in Khujand.”

Specialists from the center are currently in the mentioned districts to study the situation.  Sughd epidemiologists are now inspecting bazaars and food shops in Asht for compliance with sanitary requirements and next in turn are Konibodom and Isfara districts.

Sultonov reminded that the Sughd Center for Sanitary and Epidemiologic Supervision had issued ruling prohibiting local shops from producing and realizing perishable goods from May 1 to September 1.  “113 facilities have been fined a total of 13,094 somoni for ignoring the ruling,” he said. 

We will recall that Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service reported on March 28 this year that an outbreak of typhus has struck the settlement of Ganjobod, east of the Tajik capital Dushanbe, killing one teenager and sickening some 100 people.  Local health chief Shohmuhammad Sadulloev told RFE/RL''s Tajik Service that all the infected patients are being treated in Dushanbe’s local hospital.  He added that the main source of infection is thought to be contaminated spring water.  Local official Habibjon Azizov said the settlement has had problems for several years, since the administration of the settlement was transferred to the Ministry of Energy and Industries.